Empty Promises
by Lightened Spirit
Summary: Another year of school has finally arrived, and Flask is looking forward to his senior year; soon meeting a new neighbor a few doors down, leading to events around school and their lives altogther. Rated M for strong language and violence. R&R!
1. Chapter 1: Morning Jinx

**C.1 - Morning Jinx**

The night air was still crisp and dark. Very few lights were on around the small Manehattan suburb. The sun was already starting to rise above the horizon over the towering buildings of the large city. Morning was starting to claim the sky once again as the dark color of the sky was changing into a light purple, and then to a light blue. This day in particular was a special one for most of the young foals and the young adults; the first day of school.

Flask was stretched out all on most of the bed; the sheets were mostly hanging off the edge of the bed and he had his face buried into the pillow throughout most of the night. The two things that were swirling in his mind was school, and that stupid alarm clock that was about to go off.

Minutes passed and the time for the clock to go off struck, but no sound was emitted. Instead, he felt the soft shoving of his brother's hooves against his back.

"Hey bro, it's time to get ready for school…"

Flask could only shuffle a bit and let out an irritated groan. His brother pushed him a bit harder.

"Come on. You know that it's mandatory for me to go to school on the first day or else we'll be fined."

Instead of shuffling, he turned to the opposite direction to face the sibling. "You do realize that it's Sunday, right?" he croaked.

His brother picked up the clock that was sitting directly to his left, and held it in front of Flask's face with his mouth. Three small digital letters reading "MON" were sitting next to the numbers that represented the current time. Flask's eyes drooped as he stepped off the bed.

"Okay, get dressed and pack the stuff you need for school in your saddlebags while I clean my face."

For a brief moment, Flask smiled and turned to look at his brother, remembering the past months to the day their parents abandoned them seven years ago. With that, he stepped into the bathroom and turned on the sink, splashing cold water onto his face. He wiped his face with the towel that was hung on a shelf and put it in the dry sink next to the wet sink.

Once he trotted back into the small bedroom, his brother had finally slipped his arm through the last sleeve of his shirt before heading into the dark kitchen. Flask opened the pantry door, levitating different cereal brands in rows with magic. "This all we have breakfast wise; toss me the cereal you want and I'll fix it up."

Delta; which was the sibling's name, levitated each cereal box in front of him and tossed them into a pile on the dinner table, until he put one of the brands near Flask.

Flask nodded with a smile as the box opened and rotated at an angle, bits of the food falling into a small bowl next to a jug of milk, followed by an empty plastic cup.

A blue aura surrounded the jug as it hovered toward the bowl first, the milk running freely onto the cereal. While Flask poured the beverage into the cup, Delta turned on the small television that was sitting near the stove. Just as Flask returned the jug to the refrigerator, he quickly turned the electronic off.

"Not this time, bud. I need you to start focusing more on school this year. Middle school is more serious than that lenient elementary school you're used to."

"Aww, come on Flask. I promise I'll be focused this year!"

"I don't care. I'm going to start limiting some of your activities around here. That computer has distracted you long enough and I'm not risking you flunking more classes unlike last year. Am I clear?"

"But-"

"_**Am I clear?**_"

"Yes…"

With that said and done, Flask walked back into their bedroom to change for the day. Delta levitated his bowl into the sink along with the empty cup that used to have the beverage in it, and packed his saddlebags until they could hold no more. The apartment door opened and he said his good-byes as the door closed.

Flask only had up to fifteen minutes to get ready and head out to his own school building. The school itself had just a simple name; "Manehattan East".

He knew that there wasn't enough time to get another set of breakfast ready, which would mean that he would have to wait until lunch comes around. Then again, the year itself would have its particular perks.

Flask put his messenger bag on and opened the apartment door to see a Navy Blue Pegasus pony sitting right there just in front of the doorway, smiling sheepishly, with a small case on his back. Just by looking at him, he was about an inch shorter than Flask in height.

"What the hell do you want?"

"Oh- sorry, my family & I just recently moved in last night a few doors down and I decided to take this opportunity to greet some of the residents here." He extended a hoof out toward Flask. "Name's Symphony; and you are?"

He just stared with his bloodshot eyes to the stallion in front of him, giving him that _get-out-of-my-way _look. "It's Flask."

"Mm-hm, I can tell by your…'_interesting' _cutie mark." Symphony peered over to look at Flask's Teal flank, viewing to what seemed like a beaker broken in half with three shards surrounding the two pieces. Time was still ticking by, and Flask moved the stallion out of his way so he could make his way to the elevators.

After he pressed the button with an arrow pointing down, the thought of the case entered his mind again. "So, what's in that case you're carrying?"

"This thing holds different pieces to my Clarinet."

"Mm-hm."

"You know; the hardest instrument to learn?"

"Mmm."

The elevator arrived with a soft "_Ding_" and one of the two sets of doors opened with a small room awaiting the two. With each step taken onto the diamond plate floor of the elevator, it bounced a bit and an eerie creek erupted from below. Flasket reached over to the button labeled "L" and pushed it.

Symphony's eyes wondered around the walls of the elevator, soon leading to Flask's irritated face. He hesitated about trying to start another conversation with him. The same thought always came to mind just before he could say anything. The elevator came to a halt at the last floor, and the doors opened to the cabin-like lobby. Flask took in the scent of Maplewood as he stepped onto the carpet. _It's now or never, _Symphony thought.

"So, where you're headed at an early time like this?"

"School."

"That's nice. What's the name of it?"

"Manehattan East."

"What a coincidence; that's where I'm going, too."

Flask turned his head before trotting through the two doors of the apartment building.

_How fan-fucking-tastic… _

"I'm going to be entering my sophomore year; you?"

"Senior; I'll actually be happy that I don't have to take a damn bus once I get into college after this year is over." He returned his gaze to the morning sun in front of him, and proceeded through the open doors with Symphony following after.

* * *

><p>The front of the campus was surrounded by many small groups of colts and fillies holding conversations; most of them sitting under a tree or on the staircase to the main entrance of the school. There were very few students in the hallways, but that was commonly expected on every first day.<p>

Once the two colts neared another hallway connecting to the one that they're in, Symphony turned toward it and stopped to make one last remark.

"Got to go put this ol' thing up back at the lockers; see you later, m'kay?"

Flask ignored the statement and continued forward to a large staircase that leads to a maze of hallways where the lockers were. By the looks of it, there had to have been 1,500 lockers total on the second floor; plus 2,000 for the first floor. He looked back down at the piece of paper that was levitating near his face.

"_Locker No. 1512_

_Comb. #: 20-38-10"_

Once Flask turned past another set of lockers, he noticed a cluster of ponies blocking most of the hallway ahead. The one that stood out from most of them had a Pale Yellow coat, Crimson mane, and a- _Aw shit…_

There he was; talking to a couple of mares while stuffing his possessions into his locker. The only difference about him is that he was wearing a hoodie that had the same color as his mane.

Cool Star slammed the locker shut and turned to see Flask walking toward the cluster behind him. A smirk grew on his face from ear to ear. Flask felt his gaze dawn upon him, and brushed his long mane over his eyes.

"Well, seems like the school hothead decided to show up."

Flask kept walking forward, trying to ignore his comment.

"What's the matter, big guy? Did your fuse get soaked over the summer?"

No response.

"You bastard, I'm talking to you-"

He was cut off when an aura quickly formed around him, sending him slamming into the lockers. Flask stepped up just near his muzzle; his eyes somewhat giving off a yellow glow.

"**Didn't anyone teach you to shut the hell up when someone doesn't give you a fucking response?"**

Cool Star could feel himself becoming light as he continued to gaze into those eyes as he flapped his wings in attempt to brake from the magic's grasp. "Well- um, uh-"

"HEY!"

The loud, booming voice interrupted Flask's train of thought, causing him to lose focus and drop Cool Star. One of the teachers had stepped out of the printing office and saw most of the event unfold; just in time before it got worse.

"What's going on here?"

"Well, you see-"

"HE TRIED TO KILL ME."

Flask gave him with that look again. He knew that he was definitely in for a hell of a lecture.

* * *

><p>The classroom was relatively small in size, yet the walls were covered by shelves of flasks and beakers; each one filled with a different liquid.<p>

"So…" Flask began. "How's the morning going along for you? Good?"

The colt in front of him didn't respond or make eye contact. It seemed to be that he was typing something into the computer. _Possibly an e-mail to one of the vice principals?_

The sound of the office chair turning caught Flask's attention. His eyes soon met the colt's own; what seemed to have a Green Olive like color to them.

"My morning has been a living hell. Thanks for asking."

A small scowl eventually planted itself onto the colt's face, and returned to typing the e-mail he was trying to finish. His coat had a light stone gray color to it, his mane what appeared to have a bright crimson color, followed by an ember of fire that stood out as a cutie-mark.

"May I see your schedule?"

"Hm?" Flask was snapped out of his daze from the statement.

"Your schedule; may I see it, please?"

He was a bit puzzled for a second, trying to figure what he meant. "Oh…_that." _A green sheet of paper, apart from the other sheet, hovered onto the mahogany desk with ease.

The colt looked over it, putting his reading glasses down once he finished skimming through the text.

"Well, you're in my first period class…" he began.

"Wait, aren't you going to give me a lecture about what I was doing earlier?"

"You, a lecture? _Pffft, _I thought that hag deserved it. You should've seen him last year."

"I can imagine." The thought of the colt being nice to him was rather abnormal. He was expecting a long lecture about respect and personal space to other students, but he receives support instead.

Flask picked up his stuff and walked up the stairs to the top row of chairs. This was a way of receiving less attention from the teacher. As said by a few of his friends from the past years; the farther you are from the front of the classroom, the less of a chance you'll be picked on for a question.

The warning bell rang two minutes before the final just like always. A colt opened the door to the classroom and made his way up to the stairs to the same row Flask was at. His Navy Blue coat looked familiar as if-

"Hey Flask!"

_GOD DAMNIT IT'S SYMPHONY AGAIN!_

* * *

><p><strong><span>Quick Notes<span>**

Two days it took to write this; plus three for thinking out the plot.

Plus, I need to come with a new cliffhanger for the end of this chapter.

I'd even be lucky if I manage to squeeze more stuff into the second chapter than this one.

EDIT: Changed a few things in the summary; changed some things in one of the quotes.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Read &amp; Review, please!<strong>_


	2. Chapter 2: Two Worlds

**C.2 - Two Worlds**

Symphony pulled the chair out from under the desk next to Flask's own and took a seat, grinning sheepishly again. "You know, we need to stop running into each other like this."

Flask put a hoof to his face, shaking his head. "Now how did you get in this class in the first place?"

"The class I was supposed to take was full, and it's also because the principal viewed my records from my previous school, telling me that I needed to take something two levels higher than the academic expectancy."

"I thought there was an extra classroom where one of those bitchy teachers used to be. Surely he would've put you there instead."

"Oh, it isn't a classroom anymore. He told me it was being used as a storage room this year while he was taking me on that tour or whatever."

A brief moment of silence fell upon the two stallions as Flask continued to glare at Symphony; more students were starting to take their seats. Flask then turned his attention to a large stack of heavy notebooks, levitating them out of his bag, and setting them in front of the colt next to him. "…Hit me in the face as hard as you can."

"Why?"

"JUST DO IT!"

With that, Symphony grabbed hold of the notebooks and held it near Flask's cheek; his own hooves shaking nervously. "…I…I-I can't do it…"

"Oh my god, you are such a pussy," Flask sighed as he levitated the notebooks out of the colt's possession. The stack hovered just near his cheek like it was previously, and it quickly slammed into Flask's face with a glancing blow. Everything around him soon faded into darkness, hearing a few gasps and the loud sound of clopping hooves.

* * *

><p>He didn't know how long he was out, but he felt a cold presence on his left cheek. An opaque sheet was attached to a railing on the ceiling, followed by some papers that were held together by a magnet. Voices could be heard behind the sheet, yet Flask couldn't make out what they were saying. The sheet suddenly moved to the wall, where both the teacher and the nurse had then turned to face him.<p>

"Now, why did you hit yourself with your own supplies?"

Flask's ignorance took over his senses again. Any sounds that were around him were muffled out, and the only thing that wasn't filtered was his eyesight.

"I don't think you should be talking to him at this hour…"

"Well, I still need to know why he injured himself in front of one of my students."

"You have the patience to wait until he recovers, Flint. I'm sure that you can wait until tomorrow."

A loud snort made its way into Flask's ears; the only sound that wasn't filtered through his hearing. His eyes began to wonder around the room, soon following Flint's moving body as he slammed the door shut behind him. The nurse eventually walked back into her office and went back to filling out a couple of papers. Symphony was now in sight, sitting in the small row of chairs that sat against the wall where the nurse's office was.

"…Why did you want me to hit you in the first place?"

"I'm trying to face the fact that I died in my sleep, and this is hell."

"Oh for god's sakes… Don't be like that-"

"I was hoping for a peaceful year without someone on my tail trying to get me to become friends. I'm beginning to think that it was you who jinxed all this."

Symphony looked down at the pale white tiles below, trying to come with a proper answer; nothing. He put his saddlebags on and left the small room to leave Flask alone on the leather bed.

Many thoughts raced through his mind as sleep began to sweep over his body. He didn't know what time it was in the first place, but he didn't care. As long as the school day was over, he could finally go back to the peaceful world he likes to be in; home. Being alone in the apartment while Delta finishes his homework and goes into their bedroom to read his comics or use the computer. If only he could just leave now and sleep for a few hours.

_Sleep._

He could feel his eyelids becoming heavy, and the world faded into darkness once again.

* * *

><p>A soft tap on his chest brought him back into reality; the nurse had woken him up.<p>

"Wake up, sweetie. It's only a few minutes until the end of the final period of the day. Make sure to get all of your stuff together before you go."

Those words brought a small grin to Flask's face. He had been waiting for that statement to finally fall upon his ears. He levitated his bag onto him and left the room toward the entrance of the school. The faster he got out, the less amount of trouble he'll get in with two particular colts in mind.

The bell rang throughout the outer walls of the campus building as the first student to leave flew through the doors and into the skies. With that, he picked up speed and started to gallop across the school yard and onto the other side of the street where the apartments can be seen.

* * *

><p>Symphony's day had been going by slowly ever since that comment was jammed into his head. He didn't mean to make him feel that way. Now, it was starting to look like a repeat of everything from four years ago when he moved to Fillydelphia after his parents were divorced, later moving in with his father.<p>

He took his instrument out of the locker and closed it slowly, emitting a soft cling from the lock. If he doesn't make friends soon, he wouldn't be protected from some of the ponies who cause trouble around the campus.

Most of the students had already cleared out the school a few minutes ago, except for a few others and Cool Star, who was standing near the entrance to the colt's bathroom, waiting for one of his friends to hurry up so they could leave.

Cool Star eventually spotted Symphony walking out of the band room alone with the same depressed look Flask usually has on a daily basis. A horrible idea sparked in his mind almost immediately. Without hesitation, he flew up to Symphony's side with a devilish grin; quickly changing it to a frown.

"Hey, buddy. Why are you walking out here by yourself?"

"_Alone…_" he muttered, and lowered his head.

"I haven't seen you around these parts before. You must be new to this heap."

Symphony stopped and looked Cool Star square in the eyes. This could be his one chance to actually make him his friend; possibly his only one. A hoof was extended out toward him.

"Maybe I didn't introduce myself. My name is Cool Star, but you can call me Star."

"Symphony…" he spoke in a low tone of voice, shaking his hoof.

"Perhaps you could come with my friends and me and go do something later?"

Symphony finally got his chance, and nodded in excitement.

"Alrighty, then. We'll leave once my friend finishes up whatever he's doing in the bathroom."

The door creaked as it opened, where a cyan Pegasus that was Flask's size walked out.

"Hey Vapor, tell the other guys that we're having company over!" he shouted to the other side of the hallway, squeezing Symphony in his arm with that devilish grin again. Vapor nodded, and darted down the hallway to his left.

"I'll promise this to you, kid. You're going to enjoy your time with us. I guarantee it."

All that Symphony could do is smile, watching three more Pegasi veer around the corner toward them.

* * *

><p>Flask opened the door with enough strength to push it into the wall. He was glad to finally be home after trying to get through the first day. <em>Delta will eventually arrive soon… just only twenty minutes.<em>

As he stepped through the doorway, he looked down to see three letters on the carpet before him. The letters hovered in front of him, reading each of the scribbled words of the letters.

"_A donation letter? Earn your own money you greedy dumb fucks…_" He tossed the first letter into the trash, reading the next. "_Oh great, another foal disease relief letter; as if I wasn't expecting that at all._" That too was tossed into the trash. The next letter, however, caught Flask's attention from the first two words that read in big letters, and read to where the letter came from; closing the door behind him with his right fore-hoof.

"SUSPENSION NOTICE"

"God damnit, Delta…"

A long folded sheet of paper hovered out of the envelope, revealing a note that took up most of the page. He skimmed through it three times before figuring out the reason. _Fighting; on the first day?_

"Oh you little shit… a first fight, huh?" he chuckled.

Suddenly, the door opened a bit to where a streak of the ceiling lights in the hallway flashed onto the bedroom door, and slowly closing gently. The sibling walked quietly to the kitchen and turned on the light. Delta yelped in surprise to see Flask standing there a few feet from him; on the other side of the counter. A long piece of paper hovered to face his brother.

"Care to explain this?"

"Um…"

"Well?"

Delta tried to sort out the correct choice of a response, but he could only bite his lower lip and let his ears drop and face downward.

"Thought so. Now, who was the little jackass that got you suspended?"

"…Remember when your favorite collection of CDs was burned out in the streets last year?"

"Don't remind me-"

"I'm sure you can remember who _did_ that."

"_Cumulous…"_

"Yeah, he got me involved with a fight with one of the 8th graders before seventh period."

"And he brought you into it because?"

"He promised to pay me ten bits if I pulled off a dare for one of his friends that were in 7th grade or something."

Flask narrowed his eyes as he stared into Delta's eyes. "You need to stop being around him"

"But he's the only friend I have…"

"I don't care. If he's going to keep on getting you in trouble like this, then you need to break the bond and find some new friends."

"But-"

"I am not in the mood to argue. You either leave him behind on your own or I will take care of the situation myself."

"Please don't-"

"_**Delta…**_"

That was the line that the sibling would never even dare cross. It was a good thing to not make his brother angry, or it would result in a few objects being thrown at the living room window again. All that he could do without setting off the bomb that was looking at him in the eyes was nod.

"I will be calling his parents this weekend if you two aren't separated by Friday."

"Okay…"

"Now go to our room and do your homework, if you have any."

Flask glanced at the flat saddlebag that had nothing in it, and returned to the sibling.

"Just…just go do something until it's time for dinner"

The utter stress that was forming in his head quickly turned into a heavy head ache. He slowly rubbed his hooves on his forehead, trying to ease the pain away. "The new neighbor, school, that damn bus driver, and now this."

He continued to massage his forehead for a few minutes, until a loud sound erupted from outside. Flask opened the kitchen window and glanced down at the ground to an alley, taking in the scene that was burning into his mind.

"Oh no…"

* * *

><p>-<em>10 Minutes Earlier-<em>

Symphony followed Cool Star to what seemed to be an abandoned shack that was once used as shelter for natural disasters. The three Pegasi behind him kept a sharp eye on him throughout the small trip. A horrible feeling made its way into Symphony's mind as they veered into a small alley. Star turned around to face the Pegasus with an innocent smirk.

"I forgot to mention something along the way. We don't allow ponies who play these; 'instruments' to hang out with us."

Symphony looked at him with a confused expression. "What exactly are you trying to get here?"

"You either ditch that little wooden tube that you blow through for us or spend the rest of your miserable school life alone with it."

"I-I don't understand…"

Cool Star took the instrument off Symphony's back and placed it in front of him.

"Alright… Would you rather play an instrument for the rest of your sad life or have friends instead?"

"Well, I like to play my instru-"

"Then leave."

"So that's it?"

"You want to play this useless thing instead, so move along; fly away. There is no reason for me to waste my time to get you to leave one little thing behind."

"I can't play and have you as a friend at the same time?"

"Oh, Symphony… Symphony, Symphony, Symphony…" Cool Star whispered as he wrapped a hoof around the back of the colt's head. "You see, having a band geek in our group just doesn't fly with me very well; kinda ruins our cool, our reputation in the school, you see?"

"But why can't I do _both?_"

Cool Star's smirk vanished and was replaced with a scowl. Letting out a sigh, he turned to the three Pegasi and nodded toward them.

Two of the three started to walk toward Symphony, causing him to walk backward into the fence post behind him. The two Pegasi got their chance and pinned the colt to the rough fence. The third one, who was bigger than the other two, took the instrument case into his mouth, and flew upward to the roof of the apartment building.

"Now, I'm going to ask you this again."

Symphony looked at the pale yellow Pegasus with a frightened look.

"Is it us, or the instrument?"

"…Both…"

"What?"

"I want to do both…"

"…Hmph."

"Can I at least do both-"

"THROW IT!"

"Wait, WHAT?"

From a distance, the instrument case could easily be seen falling to the ground. All four of the colts watched it fall behind a small post office building; a loud bunt and a crash echoing throughout the area. Symphony could already feel his body going limp.

"T-That cost me 200 bits…"

"Oh please, that thing was going to drive you into a living hell, anyway."

"It took me so long to save up for that…"

"Hey, get over it. Just be glad that you have me and the guys as your friends."

"If you _were _my friend, then you wouldn't have made your little servant toss my prized possession off a FUCKING BUILDING." He had never cussed in these kinds of occasions, even this one. It was something that he had promised himself to never do. The two colts that had pinned Symphony to the fence post had eased their grip a bit, giving him the chance to wiggle free and return a negative favor.

He swatted the Pegasus to his left in the cheek with one hoof, while one of his back hooves struck the second Pegasus in the snout; streaks of blood escaping his right nostril. Symphony planted himself firmly on the dry soil below, and charged at Cool Star before being punched in the abdomen by the one who chucked his instrument off the building.

The force that was pushing into him felt like as if something was trying to burst through his body. A loud yelp of pain escaped his throat and echoed around them, coughing up drops of blood afterward. The small gang crowded around him, smirking and chuckling.

"What a shame, I thought that we would be good friends."

Symphony looked up at Cool Star, taking notice of that devilish smirk that was secretly mocking him ever since he left the school.

"Now, this is what happens when you attack my colleges."

His fore-hoof smacked Symphony on the cheek hard, causing more blood to fly out of his mouth. His teeth were already coated in it while some of it trailed down his chin.

"Life hurts, now doesn't it? Expect more of that in the future."

Another hoof came in contact with his chest, causing him to wail in pain once more. His vision was starting to become blurry and red, until a figure turned toward them. A loud, booming voice slowly made its way into Symphony's ears as the figure walked closer.

"_**Don't you dare lay another hoof on him, or I swear to Celestia I will rip your sorry asses apart one by one!**_"

Right then and there, he heard the sounds of painful yelps and some cussing before he blacked out.

* * *

><p>His vision was still blurry when his senses finally returned. Symphony was expecting to be in hell by now, but he was lying on a couch with a blanket over him, followed by a bandage that was attached to his left cheek.<p>

Letting out another painful groan as he shifted a bit on the cushion, one of his hooves accidently pushed a glass of water off the table and onto the carpet. A sudden gasp came from the kitchen and the figure from earlier walked up to him.

"Oh thank god you're alright…"

"…Flask…?"

"Yeah, yeah, it's me."

"Look, I can explain…"

"Damn right you will."

As Flask levitated the glass back onto the table, Symphony just couldn't really do anything, nor speak. The feeling of those eyes locked onto his own made him feel uncomfortable. "I was just…I was…just…" He clenched his eyes tight, trying to fight back the tears.

Flask walked up a bit closer to him, lowering his head, and nuzzled Symphony's mane, hearing the small quick breaths and sniffles below. "Okay, I understand that you're trying to find some friends-" He was cut off when Symphony wrapped his fore-hooves around his neck and buried his face into his chest, practically bawling hard. Flask stroked the back of Symphony's head, making either "shhh" sounds or whispering, "Come on, let it all out of your system".

This went on for nearly ten minutes until he was reduced to brisk coughing and small, quick breaths again. He soon took his face out of Flask's warm chest and looked up into his eyes.

The same moment of silence from this morning returned. Symphony kept starring into Flask's hazel eyes, until he broke the silence.

"You know, I think I'm just gonna head back to my apartment…"

"Oh- um, yeah, you probably should…"

Symphony pushed the blanket off of him and made his way to the door. With one last look back toward Flask, he closed the door behind him without saying a word.

Flask just stood there. One thought had wrapped itself around his mind; he couldn't get rid of it. He turned to face the white wall starring right back at him, and suddenly punched a hole into it.

"DAMNIT."

* * *

><p>The two colts continued to stare into each other's eyes as time passed by. One of them was bound to do something. Symphony was deciding between going back to his apartment or…<p>

Flask could feel the colt's hooves starting to push his head toward his muzzle. Waves of doubt dominated Flask's mind as their faces came closer. It wasn't long until his lips finally connected with Symphony's; many of his thoughts were starting to clear out of his mind.

A warm, fuzzy feeling grew in Flask as he returned Symphony's soft kiss, feeling the world disappear around him as the two colts embraced each other.

* * *

><p><strong><span>Quick Notes<span>**

Well, I did manage to squeeze in more stuff than the last chapter.

EDIT: Changed some plans around this; I have decided to not include the special scene (it doesn't fit very well to the plot).

Overall, I actually enjoy writing this. Expect chapter three to be posted next week or sooner!

* * *

><p><strong><em><span>Read &amp; Review!<span>_**


	3. Chapter 3: Loose Ends

**C.3 – Loose Ends**

The embrace didn't last very long, according to Flask's expense. He pulled back and entered the bedroom, turning on the ceiling fan and setting it to full. Before closing the door, he left behind a quiet "good night", and was then followed by the soft bar from the door that was automatically pushed into the open space in the doorway.

The colt that was still sitting upright on the arm of the couch was surrounded by darkness of the living room. Seeing as the only bedroom in the apartment complex was taken, he simply lied back onto the leather material and starred up at the ceiling. Symphony also noticed that the blanket he was using didn't cover up much of his body, and Flask had forgotten to turn on the furnace.

The passing minutes felt like hours, and Symphony couldn't sleep in the chilly living space. He snuggled up into the couch cushion as much as possible to regain the body heat from the cold air around him. Flask had already gone to bed an hour ago, followed by Delta half an hour later. The kitchen window was still open, and the freezing air from outside was blowing through at high speed, yet the colt was too cold to get up and close it, and it would also be a bad idea to wake up Flask in the middle of the night just to get him to do it.

With that, he grabbed the blanket off from the couch with his mouth and made his way to the small bedroom. As he progressed through the doorway, his wings hung down freely; he was too tired to fold them back to his sides.

The bedroom lurked with the small gusts of silence from the ceiling fan above as time went on. Delta was covered in his bed sheets; his chest rising and falling gently. Apart from what went on through the left side of the room, Flask was laying on top of his sheets, letting out soft snores in the process.

Symphony carefully got up onto the bed and lied down onto the empty space that wasn't taken up by Flask's body. His sheer presence caused the sleeping colt to slowly open his left eye to see his companion snoozing away against the wall just below an old, torn up poster.

The realm of reality returned to Symphony once he noticed that he was being pulled close to the living presence behind him. The immediate contact of Flask's warm skin brought goose bumps to the colt as a sudden chill washed over his spine. Symphony could even notice the colt shifting to his side; nuzzling his neck gently, and wrapping an arm around his chest, practically spooning him under his grasp, and then put him to the other side of the bed. The final moments of the world faded into a brisk darkness as sleep overwhelmed them.

* * *

><p>The large ocean of thoughts always kept Flask busy when asleep; properly planning things for the next day and the day after that. Even though Symphony had disrupted his train of thought, the tidal waves of the massive body of thoughts continued to flow normally. It wasn't long until a loud "BOOM" caused the ocean to burst, forming a whirlpool in the center, sucking everything back into his subconscious. A quick, but soft gasp escaped his throat from the sound that had penetrated his peace of mind. The clattering of rain was emitting from the kitchen, forming a puddle of cold despair on the tiles and the counter.<p>

Flask sat up onto the bed, accidently pushing Symphony off the edge of the bed and landing on the floor with a loud "thump". His eyes were still closed tightly after the sudden interruption, and he opened them just enough to see the Pegasus still sleeping even after falling off the bed. He carefully walked to the door and opened it to see a small puddle growing to the bump that separated the carpet from the tiles.

All it took was a bit of effort to close it; a hint of magic from his horn unlocked the window and it fell back down slowly, closing off the rain that left the kitchen drenched. Instead of cleaning up the mess, Flask just turned back into the bedroom and collapsed onto the single mattress, and pulled Symphony back up onto it under his grasp once more.

* * *

><p>He didn't know how long he was out from what happened the day after, but it eventually lasted most of the night. Cool Star shifted a bit to face the wall before him, and then turned back to the open space of the hideout. A T.V was installed into the wall to the left corner of his eyesight, which had a coffee table and a circular couch in front of it.<p>

Two sets of single beds stood in the corner opposite of the corner where the T.V was; one of the mattresses sitting above the other by the wooden supports. A set of sleeping bags that are placed on separate shelves (in which are installed into the wall) were placed in front of the set of beds. A refrigerator sat near the T.V, just to the left of the two game consoles that they had been able to get their hooves on.

The rest of the hideout was followed by two bathrooms; one having a shower and the other containing the rest of the plumbing available for use; a guest room was also available to those who would be using the sleeping bags, since there wouldn't be any room to settle down and sleep, due to the fact that the floor of the main room is either covered in trash or small tables that was claimed by different pages of pictures and other forms of art. A small stereo system was placed near the bed set, which had an iPod put into it; a Soft Rock song playing at a low volume.

Cool Star dragged himself off the mattress and toward the circular couch where one of his friends had already dominated it. A sudden "clank" of an empty can hitting the floor caught his attention and turned his head to where the beds were; another one of his friends had taken the top bunk, and an empty energy drink can had been let go from his grasp of the only hoof that was hanging downward toward the floor. He glanced around the hideout a few times before turning back to the couch, there was someone missing among the small gang.

_Now, where the hell has Vapor gone off to early this hour…?_

A sudden knock on the front door knocked Star out of his daze, and he proceeded to it quietly. Right there was Vapor; wearing his jacket with the hood over his head; a foul expression had planted itself onto his face. As he made his way in, he pushed Cool Star out of his way while he removed his hood.

"Hey, I've been beginning to wonder if you down for the count back there."

Vapor could only snort as he grabbed some of his belongings out of the only closet of the living space. The rain that was falling toward the earth had soaked his coat and his jacket while he made his way back. He grabbed a messenger bag off the top shelf with his mouth, and gently fell back down from the force of his wings.

Just as he walked past Cool Star, he quickly spat out, "And where do you think you're going?"

"Somewhere that isn't near this hellhole."

"Hm. What makes you think that?"

"Well, it would've been nice to know that whoever it was we were wearing out yesterday was one of my cousin's friends-"

"So wait; YOU are Flask's cousin? Oh wow…"

"What?"

"So this whole time, I've been hanging out with a faggot?"

"You got a problem with that?" he spoke in a low, booming voice as he started to walk toward Cool Star.

Star hesitated for a bit before sending out another one of his comebacks. He knew that Vapor was one of his strongest and the biggest apart from his other two comrades. If anyone messed with him to a point where it would push against his tolerance limit, then it would obviously get ugly and take off from there. It wasn't great being the second weakest of the group, but being torn apart by the Pegasus before him would be the second thing he would want before he could be sent into the depths of no return.

"Just…just get out."

"What's the matter? Can't come up with any material to use anymore?"

"**TURN YOUR ASS AROUND AND GET OUT.**"

The colt starred into Cool Star's Blue eyes for a bit before spitting in between his fore-hooves, and closed the front door behind him. A quick remark made its way into his ears before he departed for the gray sky above: "Don't even think about coming back here, either!"

If there was one place left that he could go now; is the apartment that holds the two brothers and the one guest still recovering from yesterday's beating. He spread out his wings and gave a quick sprint before lifting off the ground with his messenger bag around his chest. The rain was pelting him in the face; it was already too late to pull out his weather spectacles now. It wasn't long until the row of apartments finally came into view of the dense downpour and the fog.

* * *

><p>Flask slouched down on the couch a bit more as the television program had finished its term. It was at this hour that he would usually wake up early for the different showings off shows that dated back to ten years ago, or tuning the T.V to the weather station so that he wouldn't have to be bugged by Delta about what the sky would bring throughout the day.<p>

He was about to fall asleep again until two soft knocks on the door caught his attention before dozing off. After looking through the peephole on the door, Flask unlocked the door and opened it so that Vapor could walk through with ease.

"…_Hnng…_Didn't I tell you to not show up around here?"

"I've left the group."

"Hmph. Set your stuff near the door and go fix yourself something. There should be some snacks on the bottom shelf in the pantry…"

Vapor could only nod as his messenger back slid off his neck and down onto the carpet. There wasn't much left in the pantry; only two bags of potato chips and four packages of Oreo's remained on the bottom shelf. After selecting a beverage from the shelf, he slowly started to rise off the ground and flew toward the couch before cutting off the air flow of his wings and falling straight to the couch cushions. Flask turned toward him, looking at the crushed cushions and back to the tired expression on the Pegasus.

"Easy on this ol' thing; you may never know if the supports holding the couch up will break from a fall like that again." He chimed quietly.

A brief moment of silence, apart from the noise coming from the television set, had settled onto the living room as the rain was softly hitting the kitchen window.

"So, what made you leave the group?"

"Well, when some of the guys and I started to take on the colt from yesterday, I never really did know that he was your friend in the first place. How is he now?"

"Snoozing away on my bed back in the bedroom behind us, but don't worry, he only made it back with a few bruises here and there and a cut along his cheek."

"So what you're saying is; he lives here with you and your brother now?"

"Bingo."

"Huh. Should be fun feeding an extra pony around here."

Flask shot him a stern look, and spoke sharply, "Uh- no. I'm not housing another pony just because they were kicked out of their own turf. You can either live in the apartment that hasn't been bought yet or stay in a hotel for a week until you can fly out of Manehattan."

"You see, that's the problem. Most of the hotels around here are either non-vacant or their just crummy and dirty."

"Now look around you. This apartment is crummy and dirty, and I don't see you complaining about this place."

"_Hmph_. What about the apartment?"

"Brand new; refurbished; shouldn't cost that much to buy and settle into."

Vapor took the last potato chip out of the bag and quickly stuffed it into his mouth before throwing the bag away and putting his messenger bag on.

"Where are you headed, now?"

"Going to go see how much that apartment costs; I should have enough funds to start living in it."

"I wasn't being serious about the apartment thing you know-"

Flask was cut off when the door was closed behind his cousin, whom was already on his way to the front desk. He started to gently massage his temples with the flat surface of his hooves; this isn't what he had expected at all. Sure it was nice for Vapor to visit the small home once in a while, but now the visits will seem constant.

The door behind him opened gradually before coming to a stop. Symphony walked around the boundary of the couch, got up on the cushion, and slouched down all the way to his back.

"…_Who was that you were talking to…just now…?"_

"None of your business."

"_I was mentioned in the little conversation, so yes it is my business."_

The Teal colt moved his hooves down to rub his eyes before getting ready to give out the long explanation.

* * *

><p>Symphony could only stare into Flask's eyes before the first thought entered his mind instantly. "…I still don't get it."<p>

A sudden pulse of frustration echoed all over Flask's body; he wanted to strangle that Pegasus to no tomorrow just to get some sense into him. He could only put a hoof to his face and shake his head. While getting off the couch, he used his magic to flip the switch on the television set to the "Off" position and walked into the realm of the kitchen, fishing out a bowl from one of the top cabinets. After getting out one of the cereal boxes, he went over to the kitchen window and opened it; receiving a quick gust of cold wind that went in multiple directions after it came in contact with his face.

_Flask?_

The sudden voice had suddenly startled him. He looked around the apartment and only saw Symphony silently snoozing away on the couch on his back.

_Flask!_

He turned around to the kitchen sink again, and then toward the mirror. Instead of showing a reflection, he only saw Vapor from where he was a few minutes ago before he left, eating those extra potato chips he was planning on saving for later.

_FLASK!_

* * *

><p>"<strong>FLASK!<strong>"

Vapor was already starting to yell to where he could hardly speak now. Flask blinked a few times to redirect his mind back to reality and focused on the presence before him.

"Like I have been trying to say for who knows how long, _what about the apartment?_"

_Apartment? Oh that-_

"Oh, sorry. Now, the apartment thing is just a bit of a thing I accidently came up with. Besides, someone already bought it a few weeks back."

"So does it mean I have to live on the streets from now on?"

Flask sighed and thought for a moment, and spoke up again. "Why not just fly back to Gallopston and live with your friend or something?"

"Oh hell no. I'm not going back to that place; after I saw the lake of dirty water you call an 'ocean'."

"…And how long has it been since you last visited the town?"

"From the top of my head: five years ago. Why?"

"Just trying to point out the fact that the body of water you saw back then could actually be clean now."

The Pegasus tapped a hoof on his head for a moment just before he got up on all fours and picked up his messenger bag.

"Leaving so soon, cous'?"

"Well, I thought about what you said about the water being clean today, and I thought that maybe I could use whatever amount of funds I have left to head back."

With that, he opened the door and disappeared behind the wooden frame and turned down the hall toward the elevators. He suddenly stopped in his tracks and turned back to the apartment, and poked his head back into the living room and chimed, "…Mind giving me a lift to the airport?"

Flask stared at him. No movements were made as he sat there on the couch like he had been ever since he was talking to Vapor; just the awkward silence that his Hazel eyes continued to bring as Vapor smiled foolishly like a foal.

"If you want to go there now, then it would be a good idea to start walking."

A look of satisfaction had sprouted onto Vapor's face, and he pulled his head back from the open crease and flew to the elevators as fast as he could.

* * *

><p><strong>Quick Notes<strong>

After many ideas put down on paper and tossed away into the trash can near my desk (plus the amount of headaches I got from getting writer's block), I finally managed to get this out to the public. If the same thing happens when I try to get Chapter 4 in, then just try to at least be as patient as you can. It saves me the stress and the lack of effort I have been putting into this.

Feedback always welcome.

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><p><em><strong>Review, please!<strong>_


	4. Chapter 4: Quick Notice

**Quick Notice**

The chapters are now on my profile. I'll keep the links there incase I remove this story from the listing.

~Ghost


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